Bang!

WHEN: July 4, 2010 WHERE: Baylake Beach, Virginia Beach, VA

Ahh, the pinnacle of summer...The Fourth of July! Nothing says summer quite like the sights and sounds of this most-American of holidays. As for the Brasses, we made our best attempt to partake of all traditions this holiday has to offer. We rested, we sunbathed, we cooked, we ate, we watched the night sky sparkle, and we ate some more. We were without watercraft, watermelon, firecrackers, or family but we made the most of what we did have.

Saturday was mostly spent indoors, resting and acting like adolescents (i.e. doing whatever we wanted and doing a whole lot'a nothin'). We spent a couple hours at our pool, laying around and reading our books. Relaxing, check! We rented Alice In Wonderland Saturday night but after 15 minutes in and realizing it was not for her, Stace spent the rest of the movie making herself some twice-baked potatoes she ate at 10:30p.m. Food, check!

We drive by our favorite beach (Baylake Beach) on the way home from church each Sunday to get an early glimpse of the setting/crowds. We have been coming to this beach all summer and have not even been to the Virginia Beach oceanfront to play all year. Baylake Beach is on the opposite side of town, away from the traffic congestion and suffocating crowds. It's on the Chesapeake Bay and therefore very shallow. We were there last week at low tide and I walked out 250ft, only to be in up to my knees. Another guy was out twice as far as me up to his waist. The handful of ships anchored just offshore, the planes overhead landing at the airport, and the absence of crowds are attractive touches as well. This morning we stopped by Baylake Beach on our way home to take some pictures (my wife is beautiful and I like to capture that from time to time). A black dress on the beach in the midday July sun may seem out of place but my wife has no problem making it look good!

That's my firecracker!

We stopped at home to change and have some lunch then headed straight back to the beach for some fun in the sun. Give me liberty, and give me beach! Beach Babe - Beach Bum Stare directly in to the sun and say 'cheese'!

We are not the people to drink pop but outrageous Fourth of July sales can be hard to pass up!

Steak on the grill and sweet corn were also essentials for the day.

We walked to the fireworks near our neighborhood and set up around a fountain at a business park. The setting was ideal. Not too crowded, no car to park/drive, sun setting on the cloudless horizon, no bugs, thick, green, comfortable grass, 84° and no humidity, occasional wind-swept mist from the fountain, and a reflective, water-front seat. We couldn't have asked for a much better setting.

Waiting for the show to begin.

All the waiting for a 9-minute fireworks show? It was quite a let down but given the setting, we really didn't mind. And we've heard the other shows around town tonight were not that impressive either so at least we had the best spot to wait.

One last shot before heading home. We were in no hurry after the abbreviated lights show performance, and the ambiance was more than inviting.